For New Orleans schools, opportunity is as important as test scores: A guest column by Andre M. Perry

President Obama's American Jobs Act will give states and districts incentives to hire more teachers. However, as we work to continue academic growth, let's also hire teachers in ways that address the long-standing disparities that have kept our communities from becoming self-reliant and equitable.

John McCusker/The Times-PicayuneNew Orleans Charter Science and Math Academy is the highest-performing non-selective high school in the city. Nick Watchler teaches Algebra II honors
Wednesday, October 20, 2010.

New Orleans' hybrid system of charters and traditional public schools is improving student test scores. But hiring strictly to close the achievement gap may have little impact on the wealth and earnings gap.

The Greater New Orleans Data Center's "New Orleans Index at Six" measures the city's progress toward prosperity. That report found that African-American and Hispanic households currently earn 50 percent and 30 percent less than white households, respectively. The gap is even wider in the New Orleans metro area.

These sobering numbers strongly suggest that education, health care, public safety, economic growth and housing all need attention if each sector's improvement is to translate into widespread community wellness. Each industry has the power to generate jobs and wealth, which are vital to families and neighborhoods.

The problem in New Orleans, as in other cities, is that reformers often dismiss big-picture goals in favor of a laser-like focus on their internal objectives. For instance, in the pursuit of higher test scores, education leaders openly say that race shouldn't matter when it comes to finding a quality teacher.

The obvious problem with this position is that diversity should be included in a framework for quality. No training program, age, race or gender has a lock on teacher quality. Furthermore, good jobs and better incomes for families in our community should not be dismissed in the name of education reform.

Conventional wisdom says that as schools improve, so should the community. But the stubborn gap in wealth between white and black New Orleanians compels us to examine the connection between education and the workforce.

Most teachers live relatively close to where they grew up. For many reasons, K-12 schools are inherently local enterprises. Consequently, education policy ought to assume that the quality of a school system's graduates will determine the future of that system.

Urban districts are realizing what happens when its most talented graduates do not refresh the system. These are the times when districts must aggressively look for new teachers.

However, school systems must always remember they primarily serve local communities. Importing too much external talent compromises the economic stability of the community. Closing the wealth gap demands that we build local talent -- and provide talented locals with opportunities.

Higher education is the catalyst for this effort. The arrival of students from out of town increases opportunities in other industries that otherwise serve local needs. But, while colleges and universities often talk about diversity in terms of their student populations, the hiring of faculty and staff also drives the economy.

As the region's colleges and universities hire more black and Latino faculty and graduate more students of color, K-12 institutions will also be prepared to hire more diverse teachers.

In the new Brookings Institution release, "Resilience and Opportunity," the writers reveal how the success of cities will be based on how equitable they are after major crises. In the wake of the storm, the Orleans Parish School Board fired all of its 7,500 employees, of whom 70 percent were black. The dissolution of the local union's collective bargaining agreement, expansion of charter schools and the increased presence of Teach for America may have had a positive impact on academic achievement, but it certainly didn't help the jobs outlook for black people in a region with a significant African-American population (60 percent, Orleans; 34 percent, metro).

Given the impact that wealth, employment and earnings have on academic and other life outcomes, each school and district must believe that it can close the achievement gap with a diverse group of teachers, preferably those who will make those areas their permanent home.

We can have equity and academic achievement. If we want livable, sustainable communities for all our residents, we must.

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Andre Perry is the associate director for educational initiatives for the Loyola Institute for Quality and Equity in Education and previously helped manage four charter schools in New Orleans. He is the author of the "Garden Path: The Miseducation of a City." He can be reached at aperry@loyno.edu.